


Confrontation

by Balletismyobsession



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 02:05:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6404212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Balletismyobsession/pseuds/Balletismyobsession
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Various takes on how the slushie-ing scene could have gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Version 1

He could see them clearly, even though the darkness of the parking lot offered little light other than a dull yellowed glow.

Sebastian, the cause of all this trouble, was standing at the front like a general with his army behind him, wearing a smug look on his face that Kurt just wanted to slap right off. How he had gotten Blaine's number didn't matter, but when he called two nights ago, telling Blaine he wanted to meet him at the parking lot of the shopping mall at eleven at night? That mattered. That was when Kurt got involved. Sebastian wouldn't quite elaborate on why he wanted to meet Blaine, but apparently he'd told Blaine something that made him infuriatingly insistent on going. Kurt wasn't about to let Blaine go by himself and somehow the entire New Directions had found out and were all itching for a confrontation. Kurt didn't really mind though. Having more people behind him made him feel safer, knowing that they were all on his (and Blaine's) side.

Kurt and Blaine were at the front, walking quickly and hearing nothing but the click clacking of many shoes on the asphalt. The Warblers were waiting, just waiting and not doing anything. The only thing that changed was that the spark in Sebastian's eyes grew brighter as they approached. Kurt could feel the lines of a frown crease his face. He didn't dare look at Blaine. He needed to keep Sebastian in his sight the entire time. He had more than one reason not to trust him.

Their group paused, leaving two feet of black ground in between them. There was a long pause as they surveyed each other. Then Sebastian spoke.

"Well, you didn't need to bring all of the misfits." He smiled as he said it, but there was no friendliness in his tone.

"Neither did you," Kurt pointed out, eyes briefly raking along the row of navy and red, trying not to take in the faces of the people he once considered his friends.

"I thought it would be fair. To make a point, so to speak." He held out his arms to his sides, as if he could gather up the world in his arms. "I have a proposition for you, Blainey."

Blaine's eyes narrowed. "And what would that be?"

The glowing in Sebastian's eyes intensified. Kurt felt like he could practically breathe in all of the tension in the air. He'd promised the New Directions not to say anything, to just be there for support, and step in if they needed it. He didn't know how well they'd keep their promise, but they were so far.

Sebastian smiled again, his eyes locked on Blaine. "We came to ask for you back."

There was silence and then a murmur around them. Kurt held out his hand to the side, quieting everyone and reminding them in that one gesture that this was not their fight.

"Why would I go back?" Blaine asked. "Couldn't you just have called? Why bother with the stand-up?"

"Because, Blaine, in case you haven't noticed, I like to do things big. And it just seemed like so much fun," he tilted his head to the side slightly, a small snicker on his lips and that damn smile on his face. "In all seriousness, though, we do want you to come back and be a Warbler again. Don't you remember what it was like to be in the spotlight? I hear you've gotten quite good at swaying in the background. Do you remember what it felt like to be on top? To not just be another face in the crowd? To be a part of something big?"

"I am," Blaine said and the volume of his voice said that he believed himself, but the slight pause before he spoke said otherwise. And Sebastian hadn't missed it.

"Ah. Do you? Can I ask you something?" He continued without waiting for an answer. "Was it worth it? Switching schools? Trading your tie for a bowtie and suspenders? Trading a first-rate education for a mediocre public school?"

"It was worth it." Blaine practically spat. "I don't want to go back," but Sebastian could see the brief pain that flickered in his eyes, but not for the reason he thought, "so we're done here."

He started to turn, but Sebastian called him back. "I wasn't finished," he called sweetly and when Blaine turned, he smiled. "You see, Blaine, I think there's a part of you that wants to leave. There's a part of you that's connected to Dalton and that part of you is aching to return to what you knew before." Sebastian took a few steps forward and stopped when he was right in front of Blaine. Kurt tensed and he could practically feel everyone around him do the same. But Blaine stood his ground and looked him in the eyes. "There's a part of you that aches for something better than this, something better that what you're doing now. I can see it in your eyes. And I hear you're getting treated like shit at McKinley. You're at the bottom of the barrel now. That little voice in your head is telling you that you would be happier somewhere else and you just keep pushing it aside. But it's getting louder, isn't it Blaine? Harder to ignore? Tell me, besides gaining a plus one, what have you accomplished at that school? What has he helped you accomplish? Made you braver, stronger? Hmm? Made you feel like your life was worth living? Made you feel like a man?"

Blaine's fists were clenching with every word that flowed out of Sebastian's mouth. But Sebastian never wavered, simply kept lowering his voice until only Blaine could hear.

"You know what I think? I think that he's only keeping you down. He's smothering your talents and your dreams. You want to go to college in New York, yes? I hear he applied. Did you? Or would they have laughed at your application? Left the best school for miles, got the lead in a small school play. Did your mommy come watch? Maybe give you flowers and take you out for ice cream after? He's keeping you down, keeping you here. I could give you so much more. I was already accepted to NYADA. My parents know some pretty powerful people. I could see to it that your application is a bit more… fluffy than I'm sure it is. I don't know what you're gaining by being with him. I think he's only in love with the idea of you. He's never had a boyfriend so, oh lookie here, someone actually has in interest in me. He doesn't know what love is. He wants you there to have someone to hold hands with so he doesn't feel alone, he wants to be able to spill all of his drama without being laughed at, and every once in a while, he wants a dick shoved up his—"

Blaine snapped. He'd stayed calm while listening to Sebastian spew his rant, but this was far enough. "Leave Kurt out of this!" He yelled, the words echoing again and again on the concrete walls. "I love him and he is more of a man than you will ever be! You think you're so much better than everyone else, but you have no idea what it is to be a better person!" He took a step forward and would have been surprised to see Sebastian take a step back, if he weren't so fueled by rage. "A fly on the wall is more of a person than you'll ever be and you don't dare talk about my boyfriend that way!" Blaine had only ever hit someone back was when he was cornered after his old high school's dance. But Blaine had his fist wound up and begging to knock into Sebastian's face.

Voices started to come into focus around him. Maybe they'd been yelling the whole time, maybe they'd only started now, but there were shouts and hollers being directed at them. They weren't what he expected though.

"Sebastian, let's go."

"You're an idiot! You said we were only going to talk to him!"

Rough hands grabbed at Sebastian's arms as Blaine unknowingly forced him back. But all the while, while getting yelled at by about forty people, the smile remained on Sebastian's face. They both paused, eyes locked on each other's and neither one wanting to look away. Ignoring the growing hum of noise around them, Sebastian lowered his voice again.

"See, you don't even want to look away from me. You're just not letting yourself feel what you truly want."

"Go to hell," Blaine spat and Sebastian's eyes narrowed.

"Well then," he spoke at a normal volume and the shouts died down, though glares filled every face. He yanked his arms free of the boys who held him and stared at Blaine. "Seeing as I can't change your mind, I have something for you."

"Sebastian, come on."

"You know you're getting kicked out of the Warblers for this, and probably the school."

"What good is it going to do? Let it go."

He ignored everything around him and stepped back until he put a good foot between them. The only thing that was stopping Kurt from running up and tackling him was that Blaine had made him promise not to get involved unless he absolutely had to. But Kurt could feel the muscles in his legs twitching and he was shaking from trying so hard to obey.

"You know how I am on going big or going home? I have a present for you." Quicker than anyone could have thought, Sebastian whirled around, bringing his arm down and scooping up something off the floor behind him. He continued his circle and as he turned to face the front, hurled a cupful of slushie, aimed right at Blaine.

There was no time to react and nothing to do to stop him. Time seemed to slow down. Kurt's eyes widened as he watched the arc of the red slush towards its target and a hand reached out uselessly. Blaine flinched, planting a foot behind him in a vain split-second reaction to get away. But there was no way he could be fast enough. The slush made contact with its goal, splashing right into Blaine's face. He'd closed his eyes but it wouldn't help anything. It didn't make the icy breath of the drink go away. It didn't stop the slush from pouring down his face onto and into his shirt. It didn't stop his hair from becoming coated in dyed goo, where the sticky corn syrup would prove almost impossible to get out. The breath froze in lungs as the coldness made contact with his skin and the strangled gasp of surprise choked out of his throat. He stumbled back, pausing in shock for a moment and glanced up.

That one unforeseen move seemed to have frozen everyone else too. Even Kurt was standing still, though the hatred in his eyes and the scream that died on his lips more than showed his anger. Sebastian grinned, but it was there for only a second, before a scowl crossed his face and he threw the now-empty cup at Blaine's feet.

"Welcome to the club."

And he turned and was lost in the darkness of the parking lot, the Warblers with clear shock in their eyes and a thousand apologies on their tongues.

"Get out of here," Kurt growled at his former friends. By the looks on their faces, he knew that they had had no knowledge of what Sebastian had planned, but he had no sympathy for them. Not now. Probably not ever. They'd gone with Sebastian and that was enough to mark them as traitors in his book. "Go!" he screamed and though looking utterly hurt and sorry and angry, they fell back until the fuzzy lights in the covered area shined only on the small crowd gathered around Blaine. He was shivering and wiping the ice off of his face and hair, the cold night air intensifying the sensation of being bitch-slapped by an iceberg.

Not caring that the entire Glee club was around them, Kurt coaxed his slightly shell-shocked boyfriend to slide off his jacket and pull his soaked shirt over his head. The skin on his chest was covered in a faint red mark, but whether from the cheap dye or the cold air settling on the cold, sticky mess, he was unsure. Kurt began to shrug out of his own jacket, but Blaine was wrapped in a familiar red and white jacket that was much too big for him before Kurt could get his arms out of the sleeves. He looked up to see Blaine threading his arms through the sleeves of Finn's letterman jacket and pulling it tightly around him.

"Well that was unexpected," Blaine whispered and Kurt pulled him close to his side.

"Come on," Kurt said softly, leading him back the way they had entered, with their friends following along behind them. "Let's go home and get you cleaned up."


	2. Version 2

"Guys, we have a problem." Sebastian strode into the choir room, holding a piece of paper and looking pissed.

"Please tell me it's not the blazer piping. We've all been over this before."

"No, Wes." Sebastian snapped. "This is something that actually matters."

Wes's eyebrows furrowed. The rest of the council closed in around him and the other Warblers were standing and looking slightly anxious. "What is it?"

"This is it." He said and waved the paper around before dangling it in front of Wes's face like some kind of bribe.

Wes snatched it and scanned the bolded list, the other council members and as many Warblers as possible trying to read over his shoulder.

"So what? It's our set list for Regionals."

Sebastian sighed, seeming greatly impatient as he flicked his finger on the paper, making it ripple in front of Wes's eyes. "It's an email. Read the subject line." The look on his face clearly said he thought Wes was being an idiot. Wes's gaze narrowed at Sebastian, but then he looked towards the top of the paper.

"Regarding McKinley High Regionals Set List," he read aloud and confusion silenced the room until small groans were heard.

"What the hell?"

"That's our set list! We've had it picked for a week!"

"How did they find out?"

Wes cut off the words of the steadily increasing anger of the Warblers by holding his hand up. He turned to Sebastian. "Where did you get this?"

"Blaine's email isn't that hard to hack," he said with a wave of his hand. "It's not like it's protected by the CIA."

"Wait. Blaine?" Wes took a step closer. "What are you talking about?"

"Who does it say the email is from? Blazersandbowties@hotmail.com to wscheuster mckinley.edu. Seriously, not that hard to figure out."

"Blaine wouldn't do that. It's… it had to be a coincidence."

"Really? How many songs does Michael Jackson have out again? And what are the odds that they pick the same three songs that we're doing?"

"He has a point, Wes," David said from beside him.

"How did he even get out set list?"

"What does it matter?" Sebastian countered. "They have it now. The damage is done."

Wes opened his mouth, then closed it quickly. He shut his eyes for a moment, then turned to face the Warblers behind him.

"And none of you told anyone from McKinley, including Blaine, our set list? Or that we were performing Michael? Or anything?" Wes surveyed them all with a sweeping glance. "You won't get kicked out if you come clean. We can't go accusing the wrong person of doing something they didn't do."

Every boy shook their head. Wes sighed. "I can't believe Blaine would do this," he said quietly.

Sebastian put a hand on his shoulder. "Seeing is believing. And the proof is right there," he pointed again to the paper. "He knew we were performing Michael and he wanted to be the little hero at McKinley. He wants to make us look like idiots up there."

Wes rubbed a hand over his forehead. "Alright guys. Back to the drawing board. We need to come up with a new list."

Sebastian's brows pulled down and he held up a hand. "Hold on. You're just going to let him win? Scurry back into your little hole where it's safe? Blaine is playing you. He thinks that because he's not a Warbler anymore that we are going to lose at Regionals because we've lost our 'best' vocalist. Now he wants to humiliate us by stealing our set list and when we don't do anything about it, he's won. Again. That's bullshit. We can't let him do that. We can't let him walk all over us! We have to do something."

"What is there to do Sebastian?" Nick asked. "We can't just waltz on over to McKinley and demand that they give us our set list back."

"Why not?"

"Because we'd be attacking another school and whether on their property or ours, it's against Dalton law."

A familiar smirk appeared on Sebastian's face. "Then why don't we take it to the streets? Off campus. Challenge them to a good old-fashioned showdown. Whoever performs the songs better, gets to perform them period. Losers go home with their tails between their legs."

"That's ridiculous. They'd never go for that." Jeff said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nick nodded. "He's right."

"Seriously," Sebastian scoffed, "do you all agree with him?" He paused. "Because I can see that you don't. And if we had gotten a hold of their set list and planned to flaunt it in their face, do you think they would just sit there and take it? No way in hell."

"What are you saying?"

The small smirk was back. "Revenge."

Wes still looked uncertain. "Blaine is our friend, he—"

"Was your friend," Sebastian corrected. "Do you think your friend would do this to you? He's not an idiot. He knew exactly what he was doing."

Silence cast over the room. Sebastian let the words ring in the silence for a good deal of time before speaking again. "He's not your friend anymore and he planned this. And I guarantee you he told Kurt about it."

"What makes you think that?"

Sebastian laughed, a sound that was too loud in the quiet space. "Please, they tell each other everything. I promise you that." He sighed. "Look, are you guys Warblers or not? What happened to 'defending your honor'? Well, I think it's worth fighting for. I'm going to challenge Blaine and the rest of New Directions to a face-off with or without you guys." He lifted his gaze and held out a hand. "Are you with me or not?"

Eyes shifted hesitantly. But one by one, hands reached out on top of Sebastian's. When the last hand was set, Sebastian smiled. "Alright then. I'll take care of everything. Just show up when and where I tell you to."

*************

It had been easy enough convincing the Warblers. He'd had to do a bit of photoshop with the email, but he practically had the Warblers eating out of the palm of his hand.

He stood at the front as they waited in the dark parking lot. He'd specifically told Trent to hand him he brown paper bag when he asked for it.

"What's in it?" Trent had asked.

"A surprise." Sebastian grinned. "Give them a taste of what failure feels like."

It wasn't long before they could hear the clack of shoes on the ground in the dark. It sounded like they'd brought everyone. Perfect. Sebastian loved a good audience.

He saw Kurt first, mainly because of his luminescent skin. And was that… was he wearing a leather jumpsuit? Sebastian fought the urge to snicker. Blaine was next to him of course, wearing a leather jacket with the hood pulled up. What was it with them and leather? He barely noticed the others behind them. They were of no matter to him. Blaine was what mattered and Kurt was the only thing standing in his way. Convincing the Warblers that Blaine wasn't to be trusted had been fun, but now he was here to get down to business. The slushie in that bag was for Kurt and he'd added a little something extra for just the right amount of 'sting' to get the message across. Kurt's pale chest and neck would be red and burn for days. Blaine wouldn't want him with that kind of mark across his skin. Then he'd see how powerful Sebastian truly was and that they could be at the top again. Oh, he would see.

"So glad you could join us," Sebastian called as the group slowed and filed out behind Kurt and Blaine, obviously the ring leaders for this showdown.

"Cut the crap, Sebastian." Blaine sneered.

"Just trying to be friendly. But as I can see you don't share the same politeness, I'll get right down to it." his voice dropped low and echoed in the large open space. "Whoever's better, performs Michael at Regionals."

"Don't count on winning." Blaine said, raking his eyes around to each and every Warbler, to each and every person he once called his friends.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. Confidence was a fine quality and Blaine certainly had his fair share. "Then let the games begin."

*******

Sebastian's eyes widened. The slushie cup dropped from his hand.

This wasn't supposed to happen. This was bad. This was very bad.

Blaine was curled on the ground, his screams echoing around the parking lot. Sebastian's heart thudded against his ribs. Dammit, it was supposed to hit Kurt! Fucking Blaine had to go all chivalrous and push him out of the damn way. The height difference from where Sebastian was aiming meant that the rock-salt laced slushie had dumped right onto Blaine's face. In his eyes.

Sebastian backed away. Shit, shit, shit, this was so bad.

Kurt was pale, dropping next to Blaine and helplessly asking him what was wrong, trying to touch him without hurting him. Blaine had his hands clamped on his right eye, crying out and seeming unable to do anything but thrash on the ground in pain. Finn and Rachel dropped beside Kurt, doing essentially the same thing with the same results.

Kurt's head snapped up. The rage in his eyes was clear even from where Sebastian stood, frozen to the spot and terrified at what he'd done.

Kurt whirled and ran up to him, screaming. "What did you do?" he roared.

Sebastian felt his blood turn to ice. He had no time to even think of a cocky response, much less a logical one, before Kurt's fist slammed into his face. Sebastian cried out, stumbling back and clutching his nose with his hands. It hadn't been a direct hit, but he felt the blood pour from his nose. He growled in pain, flashing his eyes up to lock on Kurt's. But Kurt no longer looked livid. His tears were pooling in his bright blue eyes, streaking down his red face. He looked down at his trembling hand with mesmerized eyes, as though he wasn't sure that it was his hand that had hit Sebastian. But then he closed his fist and ran back to Blaine, still screaming on the ground.

Finn was talking to someone on a cell phone, the rest of New Directions all crowded around Blaine with varying looks of shock and fear on their faces. The slushie had diffused along the ground, the artificial red food coloring turning the sickly shade of ruby red against the asphalt. It looked like blood. Sebastian took another step back, feeling a hand on his shoulder and kept his eyes on the scene in front of him for as long as he could before he was forced to turn around and follow the rest of the Warblers out of the parking lot.

He was cornered the second they were out of the lot.

"What the fuck did you do?"

"What the hell did you throw at him?"

"What did you do to Blaine?"

He held his hand tight against his still-bleeding nose and said in a voice slightly muffled. "It wasn't supposed to hit Blaine."

"What did you put in that damn slushie?"

"Rock salt."

"Shit, Sebastian. And you wanted it to hit Kurt? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Sebastian stayed silent.

Wes groaned. "We can't do anything about it now. We go back there and they'll kick our asses."

"Well what are we going to do?"

"Nothing. We can't do anything right now. Let's just go back and try to figure out something. Blaine could sue us you know that Sebastian? You fucking hurt him, intentional or not, and now we have to figure out what we're going to do about it."

"He-"

"I'm done talking about this. Let's go."

They all filed after Wes, casting glares at Sebastian.

He hadn't meant to hurt Blaine. Especially not that badly. He'd just meant to give Kurt skin that was red and itchy and ugly. He didn't mean to hurt Blaine. He didn't know what he was going to do.


	3. Version 3, Part 1

Kurt's eyes narrowed as he thought of Sebastian. In all honesty, he really did want to just tack a neon sign above Blaine's head that read 'Kurt Hummel's Boyfriend' because this kid was just not getting the picture. So, naturally, when he'd called Blaine and invited him to a little showdown, Kurt was right there with him. He had the rest of New Directions to back them up of course, because he knew Sebastian wouldn't be going alone and he damn well wasn't going to just have the two of them against the Warblers and meerkat-face.

"You ready?" he asked over his shoulder as he tightened the fingerless gloves around his wrists. They were meeting New Directions outside the mall parking lot in twenty minutes.

There was no answer and Kurt turned, letting his hands drop to his sides. Blaine stood in his room, his hoodie in his hands. He looked utterly lost and upset. The concern filled Kurt's eyes as he took a few steps closer. "Blaine? What's wrong?"

Blaine sighed and sat down on his bed, his back curving over and head hanging down. Kurt sat next to him, waiting. "Blaine?"

"This shouldn't be happening." He said quietly.

"What do—"

"We shouldn't have to be doing this." He ran his fingers along the cool leather of his jacket. "They've changed. They're not…" Blaine sighed heavily.

Kurt rubbed a hand on his back and used his other hand to gently lift Blaine's face up to meet his eyes.

"They're my friends," Blaine said in a voice that constricted. Kurt could see the sheen of emotion in his eyes. Hurt, betrayal, anger. "They're your friends too."

Kurt looked at him gently. "They are. Sebastian is not. And he's somehow gotten them all to go along with whatever he says."

"They're smarter than that. I went to school with them for almost three damn years. They wouldn't—"

"Look, Blaine, I know this hurts and it hurts me too, but Sebastian has done something… I don't know, told them something. Otherwise they would never do this. They don't want to hurt you, but Sebastian does. He'll do whatever he has to to get under your skin. That includes public humiliation. But we aren't going to let him win." Kurt's determined eyes turned soft and he leaned forward and pressed a long kiss to the side of Blaine's temple. "I love you," he whispered as he pulled away.

A gentle smile crossed Blaine's face and he laced his fingers with Kurt's. "I love you too. This whole thing is stupid. Can't we just say that we went and stay home, maybe watch some Disney and—"

"As fantastic as that sounds, we have to get this over with." Kurt stood, squeezing Blaine's hand in his. "It'll be fine. We just have to show up, do some rough talking, maybe puff out our chests a bit, and we can go home."

Blaine stood. "What's gotten into you? You've never been one to fight."

Kurt looked at Blaine sincerely. "I've never had anyone to fight for before."

**********

Stupid Sebastian and his stupid meerkat face and his stupid clear complexion and his stupid perfect hair and his stupid goddamn smirk. Kurt felt his fists ball at his sides. Kid still couldn't get a clue. When he talked to Blaine, he stared right into his eyes with a small smile on his lips and even when he talked to someone else, his eyes kept drifting over to Blaine. Kurt swore he could bore a hole through Sebastian with the strength of his own glare, but he was put at ease slightly when he looked over and saw that Blaine's face held nothing but tense anger. Kurt knew he was still hurt under that tough-looking exterior. He'd put on a brave face, but for now it was enough and Kurt matched the force of his glare.

"So glad you could join the party." Sebastian crooned. He was so close, all Kurt had to do was run for about two seconds and he'd ram right into him. He could knock him to the ground fairly quickly. He may be small, but Kurt knew he was stronger than he looked. Maybe Sebastian just needed the sense knocked into him. "We were getting quite lonely out here."

"Can it, sloth."

If he wasn't so coiled up with anger and anticipation, Kurt would have shook his head, turning to face Puck and asking, "Really? Sloth?"

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "That's a new one."

"The only thing new around here is going to be your face when I—"

"Stop it!" Blaine hollered, holding out his hand. When Puck fell silent, Blaine addressed Sebastian. "Alright. You told us to come here, we're here."

"And if I told you to jump off a bridge, would you?" His gaze swung onto Kurt. "Seriously, would you?"

Blaine growled. "Shut up. Don't talk to him like that. We're here. What do you want?"

"I don't know if I can talk if I have to shut up. Which shall it be?"

"Start talking. We're done playing games."

Sebastian shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright. You don't have to be so rude." He paused and seemed to stand a little taller. On instinct, Kurt felt himself straightening up too. He'd been confronted by enough bullies that the action wasn't something he could control. He'd had to make himself look less weak somehow. But he wasn't weak anymore. Sebastian continued, "Michael. We're performing at Regionals. You pick a new set list."

"Not happening."

"I didn't want to have to resort to this," though the twinkle in his eyes said that he did, and that he even wanted to, "but I believe we've come to a standstill. Therefore, I suggest a little competition. Whoever performs better, performs Michael. Got it?"

"Don't hold your breath," Blaine growled and despite the whole situation, Kurt would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit turned on by Blaine in a leather jacket, his voice low and gravelly. Really, Kurt just wanted to kiss him right then and there, show Sebastian once again who Blaine's boyfriend was. But he just strengthened the force of his glare.

"Might want to pick a new facial expression, Hummel. It might get stuck that way."

Oh it was so on.

***********

Kurt caught only a glimpse of Sebastian's up-to-something smirk before it was too late. He felt Blaine's hand on his arm, perhaps to pull him away, but he hadn't been fast enough either. The slushie flew with full force towards its target, smashing into Kurt's chest and fanning out over his neck and down his shirt. The first thing he felt was the shock that crossed his face, then the coldness sending shivers down his spine as he stumbled backwards, then the pain like fire. He fell back into someone who caught him and lowered him down as he frantically began batting at his exposed skin, trying to wipe the slush away. Blaine's single surprised and equally fearful scream echoed in his ears like buzzing bees long after the scream had left his lips.

There were voices all around him, but his brain could only focus on one thing: to get the slushie off of him. He began to breathe faster, unable to stop the groaning as the pain intensified. What the hell? Even as he wiped the ice from his chest and the places it had splashed onto his face, the burning was still there, getting worse, like fire ants crawling on his skin. He cried out as his attempts to rid himself of the slushie weren't working.

Blaine didn't see that. He didn't know. The moment he'd seen the slushie hit Kurt, the horrified expression on his face, the anger boiled up. That was the last straw. He barreled up to Sebastian, grabbing him by the collar and yelling in his face. However, Sebastian didn't seem the least bit sorry for what he did or even the least bit phased that Blaine was pulling his face down so he could stare directly into his eyes as he yelled. In fact, he looked pleased with himself.

Then a sound hit his ears. A pained sound. Without letting go of Sebastian, he turned his head to see Kurt on the ground, Rachel wiping at his face and neck with the hem of her jacket. The look on Kurt's face… Blaine's face fell. It was pain. Pain filled Kurt's body, from the small muscles under his skin to the closed eyes, to the balled fists and hissing breaths.

Blaine tightened his grip on Sebastian's collar. "What. Did. You. Do." The words were tense and punctuated with nothing less than pure hatred.

"Nothing, it—"

"You call that nothing!" Blaine yelled, the veins in his neck standing out as his face flushed red.

"Blaine, come on," Sebastian said with a shaky laugh. It was the first time Blaine heard fear in his voice. "I mean, it… it was funny."

"That is funny to you? What the fuck did you put in that slushie!" Blaine was livid. He didn't remember ever being so angry at one time. Not even at Sadie Hawkins, not even when he'd been drunk and got mad at Kurt in his car, not even all those times that his father tried to turn him straight. His fingers on Sebastian's collar turned white with the force of his grip. Sebastian looked down at Blaine's hands, then back up into his eyes, alight with fire.

"Hey, come on, man." He tried to pull away from Blaine, but it was no use. Sebastian may be taller than him, but Blaine, with this amount of adrenaline coursing through him, was much stronger.

"No! You tell me what the fuck you did to that slushie or I'm going to—"

"Rock salt." Sebastian said suddenly, so quietly that Blaine was taken aback. His raging breath left his body in a whoosh and his hands went slack.

"What?"

"Rock salt." He repeated, raising his voice a bit.

Blaine's hands dropped from Sebastian's blazer and he took a step back, his eyes widening. Sebastian almost winced because the look in his eyes clearly said how could you do this? It was a pleading look and he never wanted to see that look on Blaine's face again.

"I… I didn't… I didn't mean to hurt him."

In an instant, Blaine's eyes hardened. "Yes you did." His hand flew through the air and Sebastian didn't have time to react fully before Blaine's fist connected with his face. He'd been able to tilt his head, so Blaine caught him on the side of his face, but it still hurt like hell. Blaine's knuckles dug into his nose and side of his mouth, the smack of skin and bone on face echoing lowly. Sebastian recoiled, bringing his hands up to hold his face. His lip was split and bleeding, as was the steady stream coming from his nose.

Without a look back, Blaine had turned and ran, dropping down next to Kurt and cradling him in his arms, talking to him softly and looking at him with what Sebastian knew to be pure love in his eyes. He felt his heart stutter painfully. That was worse than the pain in his face at the moment. He'd been an idiot to think he could somehow win Blaine over and even more of an idiot to think that Blaine would ever spare him a passing glance again after he'd hurt Kurt. Blaine was right. He had meant to hurt him, but he didn't feel the way he thought he would. There were so many emotions flooding through him as he looked over at that scene, with Kurt being helped up as Blaine wrapped an arm around his waist and began to lead him away. New Directions followed, all casting glances that ranged from I hate you to I would kill you right now if Blaine hadn't told me not to. The only ones who didn't look back were Kurt and Blaine.

Sebastian's eyes now had nothing to linger on except the empty red and white cup a few feet away. Really, he just wanted to fall to his knees and cry. Instead, he tightened his jaw and turned to the stunned Warblers behind him.

"Let's go," he hissed and pushed through them, blinking back the way the tears pricked in his eyes. He held his hand to his lip, where the bleeding was worse and tasted the copper sting of blood. He could cry later, when he was alone and no one could see him. But for now, he had to at least look strong, even if he felt the exact opposite on the inside.


End file.
